Fullmetal Meal I: Chickpeas and Veg
3 ingredients, 4 spices, and a powerhouse of nutrients. Good and good for you.
If you’ve been reading Food Bank for a while, it shouldn’t surprise you that I’m starting another “series”, because I habitually categorize and subdivide. With Fullmetal Meals, my goal is to provide you with an expanding library of meals that you can throw together at a moment’s notice and hopefully expand your understanding of how to put a meal together.
So, here are the rules; all of these conditions must be satisfied for a meal to be Fullmetal:
The meal costs roughly $1.00 per serving, per person.
It tastes good enough that you would feel comfortable serving it to guests.
The meal contains enough protein and veggies to meet basic nutritional standards.
It can be made with common kitchen staples. That means no truffle oil or avocado salt.
For this recipe, you’ll need the four spices from last week’s letter: Garlic Powder, Chili Powder, Paprika, and Cumin. You will also need three ingredients: Sweet Potatoes, Brussels Sprouts, and Chickpeas. Finally, you will need some kitchen staples: an oven, rimmed tray, parchment paper, cooking oil, salt, and pepper.
Check out the recipe below and I’ll go over why it works afterward.
Vegetables
5 oz Brussels Sprouts
5 oz Sweet Potatoes (one small sweet potato)
1 Can of Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans) drained and rinsed
Cooking oil with a high smoke-point (Canola is a great choice here)
Sweet Potato Spices
Combine these spices in a separate bowl before you start prep work.
1/4 Teaspoon Paprika
1/4 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Cumin
1/4 Teaspoon Black pepper
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
Chickpea Spices
Combine these spices in a separate bowl before you start prep work.
1/2 Teaspoon Paprika
1/4 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Chili Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper
Prep Work
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and line your baking sheet with parchment paper.
Begin by trimming the stems (the tough-looking part at one end) of the sprouts, then cutting them in half, lengthways. Set these aside in a large bowl. Drizzle enough oil to coat the sprouts and liberally season with salt and pepper. Stir until the sprouts are well coated.
A note on leaves: When you prepare Brussels sprouts, a lot of little leaves are going to fall off. These leaves will burn long before the sprouts are cooked, so I like to cook them on a separate sheet, or in a skillet. Gather up the loose leaves, massage them with a small amount of oil, salt, and pepper and place them on a piece of aluminum foil or a smaller baking sheet while the bulk of the vegetables cook. You will need to remove them halfway through the cooking time so that they don’t turn into bits of charcoal (you could also cook them in the skillet with your chickpeas later on). They serve as a delicious garnish that adds umami and texture to this meal.
Next, wash and then slice your sweet potato in half lengthways and then chop into 1-inch chunks (you may peel it first if you like). Add the sweet potatoes to a bowl. Drizzle enough oil to coat the potatoes and pour in your seasoning, stir to combine until everything is well coated.
Drain and rinse your chickpeas.
Add your potatoes and sprouts to the baking sheet like in the photo above. Make sure they are spaced out no closer than this, otherwise you risk the proximity causing steaming rather than roasting. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes. If you have 5 minutes left on the timer, but your sweet potatoes have already gone dark and crispy, your oven probably runs hot and you’ll want to compensate for that in the future. You’ll know the veg is cooked properly when the sweet potatoes have a darker crispy texture on top and the sprouts have wilted a bit and gone crispy.
While the veggies cook, heat a skillet over medium heat and add a tablespoon of canola oil to the skillet. Your chickpeas should be drained and dry by now. When the oil is hot, gently pour your chickpeas in the skillet. Pour away from your body to avoid splashing oil on yourself. Don’t add the chickpea spices yet. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, tossing or stirring regularly. Once the chickpeas have some dark spots on them, and a few have popped or split, remove the skillet from heat and stir in your chickpea spices with a little more oil (I used extra virgin olive oil here) and mix to combine.
By now your veggies should be close to done. Divide everything in half and enjoy your first Fullmetal Meal!
Support Food Bank
If you want to help me feed my cats and have more time to write these newsletters, consider subscribing for $5 a month (or $30 a year) to help support this one-person-show.
I use Amazon associate links. That means that if you buy something through one of the links in this newsletter, I’ll get a small commission from Amazon. Rest assured, I will only link to products I use and recommend.